The New Concept 5-Series Gran Turismo

[JoshCalkins]

BMW 5-Series Grand Turismo Concept

Next month at the Geneva Motor Show, the Concept 5-Series Gran Turismo will make its official debut, but details about the model have already come to light.

So what is the Gran Turismo? Well, that's a difficult question to answer. Because it is listed under the 5-Series name, you would expect it to be a sedan with a few extra luxuries and a bit of extra power, but that falls short. The Gran Turismo is the latest iteration of BMW's "Progressive Activity Sedan" development process. Just as BMW created SUVs off of their car platforms and then dubbed them SAVs (Sports Activity Vehicles), a PAS is not your regular sedan.

Let's start with the size of the vehicle. Lengthwise, the Gran Turismo measures 196.8 inches, a big jump over the regular 5-Series length of 191.1 inches, making it just 2 inches shorter than the 7-Series. The Gran Turismo is also very tall, measuring 61.2 inches instead of the regular 57.9.

BMW X6

Now let's consider the look of the car. As you can see in the picture, the Gran Turismo departs from the normal 5-Series styling. The back end looks like a squashed version of the X6's rear. In fact, if you took and X6 and squashed it down a few inches (the X6 is 66.5 inches high), then you'd end up with a vehicle that looks a lot like the Gran Turismo (the second photo is an X6 for comparison). Also, for those of you who can't remember seeing a BMW in that exact color before, your memory is not failing. The Gran Turismo has its very own exclusive color (exclusive for now, anyway), called Fluid Cuprite.

BMW X6 for comparison. Another similarity between the 5-Series Gran Turismo and the X-Series models is the tailgate. You can either open the lower segment just like a regular sedan's trunk, or pull up the entire rear gate and window, just like an SUV's. The 5-Series Gran Turismo also comes equipped with most of BMW's luxury interior features. Exact details aren't available yet, but the large size of the vehicle will surely create a very spacious cabin.

As far as the engine is concerned, there's been no word yet from BMW, but a safe bet would be that the 5-Series Gran Turismo will be powered by either a V8 or V10. BMW has used the Gran Turismo moniker for past concept vehicles, and those usually came equipped with big engines.

- Josh